Author's Note:

Okay, so, I got sucked into the Shamy sometime around February and have been trying to write about them for a while. Of course I envisioned some classy, long, chaptered fic as my first contribution, and I am working on that, but it turns out I'm having trouble focusing. So in the meantime, I'm starting this collection of Shamy fics I feel are too short to post on their own. Some might be missing scenes, some might be a look into the thoughts of the characters, some might be something else entirely. Chapters will not necessarily go in chronological order. These will be published as I complete them. I do not have any sort of posting schedule.

This first one was originally published on Tumblr on September 21st, 2021. I was pretty much just waiting until I had more written (and until I came up with a decent title) to published elsewhere. Since I'm almost done with a second ficlet, here we are! A little something from the end of The Alien Parasite Hypothesis.

Enjoy!

Nothing

As Amy left the bar with Sheldon in tow, she felt a myriad of emotions, but chief among them was relief.

When Sheldon revealed what he had done for her, contacting Zack and arranging their meeting, she had been fully convinced it was the best move, and she fully intended to go through with it. But with every step she took in Zack's direction, she became less sure. When she had stood before him, all quivering nerves and hormones, saying the speech she had written in her head on the way over, she was down to about 50% sure. All it took was one look into his dull, uncomprehending eyes to make the final decision.

It was better this way. Now she was moving in the right direction again, away from Zack, back to the realm of pure intellect, with Sheldon at her side. If only Zack had been smarter. It didn't matter how physically attractive he was if his brain served no other function than to keep his head from caving in.

She glanced at Sheldon from the corner of her eye. His brain was beautiful, she didn't have to scan it to know that was fact. After tonight he had more than proven himself to be an excellent friend. And his physical attributes were above average, though she never spent much time considering it before now. Perhaps that was her mistake. Perhaps …

It was a bold move, but that seemed to be the theme for the night. Without overthinking it, Amy reached over and grabbed Sheldon's hand.

Smooth, soft, warm, large. Amy cataloged her findings quickly in her mind. Seemingly on instinct, Sheldon's hand closed around hers.

Oh?

Just as quickly as it started, it was over and he let go, his hand hanging limply in hers.

"What are you doing?"

"An experiment."

She searched his face. Not dull, dumb, and boring like Zack. She could almost see the storm of calculations running through his head just by looking in his eyes. But that was just it. Calculations, equations, the questions of the universe. And just passive acceptance of her. His still-limp hand in her grip.

"Nope, nothing. Never mind."

She dropped the link between them. Oh-for-two tonight. But maybe she was being too hasty. Had Sheldon not displayed signs of jealousy earlier, signs that even he could not directly deny? Had he not stayed with her far longer than social convention would necessitate tonight? What reason did he have to accompany her inside, get his hand stamped, and watch her encounter with Penny's ex?

And she had not imagined his hand briefly holding hers back.

Nothing?

The two of them continued to walk in companionable silence back towards his apartment. Upon arriving, he invited her up and served her tea in a yellow mug. The gesture filled her with a warm flush of happiness. Not exactly the localized vascular throbbing she experienced before, but she'd take it.

Maybe it was nothing. Or maybe even nothing was still something.